Municipal Lien Certificate? (documents, agent, price, property)

[brightyellowhaha]

Hi Everyone,

Looking for some insight. There is a house in my area that looks great, good price but has been on the market for a while. So I did a little research and found out that there was a municipal lien certificate placed by the town in 2003 for back taxes I'm assuming?

So as a potential buyer how would this have to be addressed? Could this be the reason there hasn't been one single offer on the home?


Thanks!

[MikeJaquish]

Clearing of the lien would be necessary to deliver insurable and marketable title to you.

I don't think the existence of the lien is specifically why there have been no offers. But it may well be indicative of other issues the owners may have.

[brightyellowhaha]

Thanks for the info! In situations like this, is it typically the buyer who clears the lien? Or would it be cleared from the proceeds of the sale?

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by brightyellowhaha

Thanks for the info! In situations like this, is it typically the buyer who clears the lien? Or would it be cleared from the proceeds of the sale?

Either out of pocket from the seller or from seller's proceeds from sale, I would think.

Talk to a title company or closing attorney in your local town regarding the issue. You will get better guidance focused on your local procedures than I can give you on CD.

[MikePRU]

This is why it's good to ask real estate questions locally. A Municipal Lien Certificate also commonly referred to as an MLC is typically recorded every time title changes hands in Massachusetts. It is recorded to show all taxes and assessments minus water and wastewater charges owed on each parcel. It does not mean there is necessarily any money owed or even an actual lien on the property.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

This is why it's good to ask real estate questions locally. A Municipal Lien Certificate also commonly referred to as an MLC is typically recorded every time title changes hands in Massachusetts. It is recorded to show all taxes and assessments minus water and wastewater charges owed on each parcel. It does not mean there is necessarily any money owed or even an actual lien on the property.

Excellent.

[DMenscha]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

This is why it's good to ask real estate questions locally. A Municipal Lien Certificate also commonly referred to as an MLC is typically recorded every time title changes hands in Massachusetts. It is recorded to show all taxes and assessments minus water and wastewater charges owed on each parcel. It does not mean there is necessarily any money owed or even an actual lien on the property.

No such animal in CA, indeed a good reason to know the local rules.

[brightyellowhaha]

Thank you MikePRU. I will follow-up with my real estate agent to see if we can learn the details. I'm just a little surprised it's still on the market... but maybe there is something else going on with the property.

[MikePRU]

There's always a reason why a property doesn't sell. Is the market in this town you are looking in particularly slow?

If you're in MA, most of the registries are on-line and you can perform property searches to look for liens. You can actually read the documents on-line as well which will help avoid confusion like this.